Weekly Recap
Volleyball splits games in LA, men’s, women’s soccer attempt to get points on the road
Mari Olson / Sports Editor / The USD Vista
Torero Athletics is a busy program, and it’s hard to attend every game you might want to see. Every week, we will provide a quick recap of the rest of the athletic schedule that you couldn’t make it to for the past weekend. This week, volleyball, football, and men’s soccer played away — check in with how their seasons are progressing.
Men’s Soccer
The University of San Diego men’s soccer team played the University of California, Irvine Anteaters on Wednesday, Sept. 16 at home and recorded their sixth loss of the season.
UC Irvine scored two goals in the first half and one in the second half to put the Toreros down 0-3. Senior goalkeeper Berk Watson made two saves but couldn’t keep out Irvine’s other three shots during the game.
Sophomore forward Nicklas Clausen was able to get his third goal of the season and pull one back for the Toreros in the 66th minute, making the final score 1-3 in favor of the Anteaters.
The Toreros recorded 20 shots total with 10 shots on target during the course of the game, but other than Clausen’s goal, they couldn’t get the ball over the line.
USD rounded out the weekend’s games with a 1-3 loss on the road to California State University (CSU) Fullerton Titans on Sunday, Sept. 19.
First-year forward, Luke Pardoe, opened the scoring for the game with his strike in the 22nd minute, but CSU Fullerton was able to level the score six minutes later in the 28th.
The Titans struck twice in quick succession in the second half, scoring thirty seconds apart in the 77th and 78th minutes, to put the game out of reach for the Toreros.
Men’s soccer returned home on Wednesday, Sept. 22 to play the University of California, San Diego for the first time since UCSD became a Division I school. The first edition of the newest San Diego college rivalry began at 7 p.m. at Torero Stadium.
Volleyball
On Friday, Sept. 17, USD volleyball traveled to Los Angeles last weekend to play the University of Southern California (USC).
The Toreros won the first set 25-22, and then dropped the next two sets, 25-20 and 25-13 to put USD down 2-1. However, the Toreros were able to make a comeback in the last two sets, winning 25-19 and 15-13 to take the game against USC 3-2.
Junior opposite/setter, Grace Frohling, led the team in kills and aces against the Trojans, with senior libero, Annie Benbow, leading in digs.
USD volleyball continued their road trip against Long Beach State University (LBSU) on Saturday, Sept. 18.
Despite the Toreros’ best efforts, LBSU took the first two sets 20-25, 18-25. USD came back to win the third set 25-19, but couldn’t hold on in the fourth set, losing to LBSU 23-25, and dropping the match 1-3 overall.
Frohling and Benbow led again in kills and digs respectively. Sophomore middle blocker, Leyla Blackwell, led the Toreros in blocks.
Volleyball opens play in their West Coast Conference schedule this weekend, playing Saint Mary’s University on Thursday, Sept. 23, and the University of the Pacific on Saturday, Sept. 25. Both games will be played at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
Football
University of San Diego football fell to the Montana State University (MSU) Bobcats on Saturday, Sept. 18.
Montana State scored three times in the first quarter to put the score at 0-21.
Graduate student and quarterback, Mason Randall, threw two interceptions in the second quarter that Montana was able to turn into touchdowns to put the Bobcats up 35 points.
The Torero defense couldn’t find a way to stop MSU, with the Graduate student and running back, Terrrence Smith, rushed for a total gain of 30 yards during the game. Redshirt sophomore running back, Rhyle Hanson, and first-year wide receiver, Ja’seem Reed, made important positive catches to move USD forward during the game.
USD’s only touchdown came in the third quarter with less than four minutes to go.
Redshirt senior tight end, Michael Gadinis, caught graduate student and quarterback, Judd Erickson’s pass to score six points. Junior kicker, Brandon Eickert, converting the extra point to make the score 7-45.
The Bobcats scored once more in the fourth quarter to widen the gap to 7-52, but Eickert made a field goal with nearly seven minutes to go in the game to make the final score 10-52 to Montana State.
USD football will head to Davidson, North Carolina on Saturday, Sept. 25 to play Davidson College in their first Pioneer Football League (PFL) game of the season.
The Toreros will be looking for their first win of the season and to start off their PFL championship campaign strong, after missing out on the league last season.
Women’s Soccer
After a hot start to the season, USD women’s soccer has played a tough run of games in the past couple of weeks.
They continued their season on Sunday, Sept. 19, coming up against the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) Gauchos on the road.
UCSB scored in the 34th minute for the only goal of the game, causing the Toreros to lose 0-1 and their record to drop to 4-4 for the season.
Head coach Louise Lieberman made several attacking substitutions in the second half to try and level the score with the Gauchos.
The UCSB goalkeeper saved all three of the Toreros’ shots on target.
Women’s soccer returns to Torero Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. to play the University of Denver.
The following weekend, the Toreros will begin their West Coast Conference schedule, playing Santa Clara University on Saturday, Oct. 2. Men’s soccer also starts WCC play against Gonzaga on Oct. 1.